A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book

Excluding Power from a Narrative: Sexual Harassment in a Criminal Law Reform




AuthorsJohanna Niemi

EditorsUlrika Andersson, Monika Edgren, Lena Karlsson, Gabriella Nilsson

Publishing placeCham

Publication year2019

Book title Rape Narratives in Motion

Series titlePalgrave Studies in Crime, Media and Culture

First page 17

Last page41

Number of pages15

ISBN978-3-030-13851-6

eISBN978-3-030-13852-3

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13852-3_2


Abstract

In discourses on sexual harassment abuse of power is usually present. Often the perpetrators are in positions of power and, if not, they benefit from a culture that protects the practices against women and others in less powerful positions. However, the power relations are not always acknowledged. This chapter presents a law reform to criminalize sexual harassment that was presented and handled in the Finnish Parliament without discussion on the power relations in harassment. The chapter discusses the consequences of the dismissal of the power dimension in the formulation of the new law, which is limited to touching, and in the implementation of the new law, in which more serious sexual violations are processed as sexual harassment.



Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 23:31